Flames of Courage, Embers of Hope
by Dardarax
Summary: Legends speak of heroes rising to face evil in the greatest hour of need. But legends rarely speak of the aftermath, or the heroes who rise to face the danger a broken world brings. This is the tale of two such heroes, and their journey to find peace.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. The Frozen Paradise

By. Dardarax

**Note:****Before I begin this story I would like to get something off of my chest: For all of you Ember haters out there, this is an Ember and Flame based story, with next to no Spyro or Cynder in it. I know that many of you out there hate Ember with a passion, but I don't see why. Yes she is annoying, and yes she constantly hits on Spyro in the original series. But why you must always use her as a punching bag for your SpyroxCynder fan fictions and I will never understand. Yes, because she hits on Spyro, she is the perfect obstacle in building the relationship between Spyro and Cynder, but it is getting old now. So I have decided to dedicate a story solely to her and Flame, and how their relationship in my story **_**Dark Legacy**_** formed. And since there are so few actual stories that focus on them at all, I feel it is time to break the mould, and make a story all about them. So here it is: **_**Flames of Courage, Embers of Hope**_**.**

_Disclaimer: I Dardarax, do __**not**__ own Flame, Ember, Dante's Freezer, or any other character or place that belongs to the Spyro franchise. I won't be doing any more disclaimers for FC, EH as disclaimer jokes are Dark Legacy's thing. So this disclaimer applies to every chapter hence forth. Many characters featured in these chapters are of my own creation; their names will be listed at the bottom of each chapter._

The frigid wind howled, driving snow at a nearly horizontal angle across the frozen plains. The blasted, icy wasteland was white as far as the eye could see. Huge billowing clouds boiled in the sky, blotting out the afternoon sun as the blizzard raged.

Two figures battled their way through drifts of snow, and against the powerful wind. They were dragons; each wore white snow bear skins to keep warm in the arctic wasteland. The white fur blended into the arctic snow, keeping them from unwanted eyes. One of the dragons was no more than fourteen; he struggled through the snow and wind behind an adult dragon. They were tied together by a thick rope, to keep them from losing each other in the storm. Each carried two bundled packages strapped to their backs.

"How much farther to Frosthelm, father?" The young dragon cried over the wind. The young dragon's father didn't hear the call and continued forward. The young dragon tugged on the rope and tried again. This time his father turned and shouted.

"Not much farther now! See over there? That's the mountains! We're close!"

The young dragon nodded, his fur wrapped head bobbing. They trudged through the snow and ice, and slowly the mountains came into clear view. They sped up their pace as they approached, wanting to feel the warmth of their hearth over the biting chill of the cold, snowy world around them.

They reached the foot of the mountain, its sheer walls towering over them, no crevice or foothold visible. They turned right and followed the ice encrusted grey walls. After a short time they found an oddly shaped boulder, marked with blue paint. They slipped behind it and found a narrow staircase leading up the mountain. They carefully picked their way up the icy stairway.

Halfway up the young dragon slipped, nearly tumbling to his death down the rugged mountainside. His father held on to the stone, and hoisted the rope up, bit by bit. When the youngling was back on the staircase they continued climbing.

The long twisting path eventually levelled off onto a platform, which in turn led into a cave. Gratefully they moved inside, away from the wind and ice. They shook the snow that clung to their coats loose and followed the cave. After a few turns they found themselves in a colossal cavern. Below them a small village sprawled out in the belly of the mountain, and the entire cave was lit by glowing moss.

A snow fox guard jogged over to them, and pointed his spear.

"Stand and be recognized." He drawled, a lazy smile creasing his muzzle.

"Oh come on, Slick!" The adult dragon growled. "You know it is us."

"Procedure." The fox laughed, lowering his spear. The two dragons lowered their hoods, and removed their face coverings. The two were remarkably similar in appearance, with two powerful, deep red horns each that curled out of their heads. A strong muzzle, and a frill that ran down from their forehead to tail tip, their underbellies were a vibrant orange. The main difference between the two was that the young dragon's eyes were a grey in colour where the adults were a dark hazel.

"Conflagris and Flame, back from the hunt." Conflagris, the adult dragon grumbled. The fox nodded, smiling at the drake's frustrated expression.

"Good to see you sir. Do you mind me asking what you've brought?"

"I got a snow bear, and an ice boar."

"And I've got two seals!" Flame declared proudly. The fox, Slick, nodded appreciatively.

"Ooh, I have been craving some seal meat for a while now. I hope your sharing."

"I'll give you some if you share some of those stormwing eggs you've got." Flame countered. Slick grinned.

"Of course, you've got yourself a deal."

The two red fire dragons continued on their way, going down the long stone path to the village below. Conflagris sighed with relief. Here in Frosthelm, they were safe. The mountain was an unassailable fortress to any attack from Malefor's forces. The three narrow staircases that led to the village were easily defended and could simply be blocked off in case of emergency. Even an aerial assault was all but impossible on the mountain town. The strong winds and common storms that raged across the plains of ice made any such attempt a folly. Frosthelm was one of the safest havens in the land.

"_Though,"_ Conflagris thought as he and his son, Flame entered the village, _"it is ridiculously dangerous to leave. Harsh weather, ice, and being as close to Dante's Freezer as we are makes it a risk to even go out for food."_

He and his son moved through the stone huts of the village, and all around them the villagers greeted the returning hunters. They asked how their journey had been, if they had encountered any trouble and what had they brought back with them.

The two answered quickly, but hurried on towards their house. Their home was a squat, stone building. Its walls encrusted in moss and packed with dirt to keep the heat inside. They entered through the door made of wood and furs, and sighed with relief as the warmth washed over them.

The inside was larger than the small outside let on. It was fairly spacious, but with only three rooms. A main room, which functioned as the kitchen, dining room, and work area. The other two rooms were for the family to sleep in. One for Conflagris and his mate, and the other for Flame and his sister.

"We're home!" Conflagris called out, closing the door behind him. A light blue dragoness, several years older than Flame stepped out of one of the rooms and rushed to them, embracing the two. She was of slight build, and had the same two horns that her father and brother had, and her eyes were the same grey as Flame's but that was where the similarities ended. Her face curved into a beak, rather than a muzzle, and her underbelly was a light green to their orange.

"Oh thank the ancestors you two are alright! I heard there was a bad blizzard and couldn't help but fear the worst." She whispered, hugging the two closer together.

"We're fine Autumn," Conflagris murmured, patting her on the back, "it was just a little chilly, nothing major."

The dragoness pulled back and punched her father lightly in the gut. "Chilly my ass. The guard's water skins froze solid within minutes of going out there, and they were heated."

"How's mom doing?" Flame asked, worriedly shrugging off the packs and his fur coat.

"Better. Svellb says the fever is finally starting to abate." Autumn grunted, taking a peek at Flame's packs. "Hey nice catch there runt. Maybe you're not useless after all."

"I'm not a runt," Flame declared haughtily, "I am almost as tall as you. And I am definitely not useless. You're the useless one, all you do is sit around and knit or something like that."

"I weave blankets and clothes for the villagers," Autumn sighed, "and you will always be a runt, no matter how big you get. So get used to it."

"Settle down you two." Conflagris muttered, placing a paw on each of their shoulders. "Can we see her now?" he asked Autumn after the two finished glaring at each other.

"Yes, I'm sure Svellb won't mind." Autumn led the two into the room she had just left. Inside they found two female dragons, an ice blue who lay on a bed of pillows, and a decrepit brown who stood beside her. The ice dragoness was covered in blankets and coverings, which she tossed and turned under fitfully, occasionally coughing. Flame walked cautiously towards his mother and sat down beside her head.

The ice dragoness had four horns instead of her children's two. Her face ended in a beak like Autumn and her under belly was green. Her eyes, which at the moment were shut, where a dark grey. Svellb the healer used to have a set of six horns, but they had long since broken or fallen out. Her muzzle was filled with only a few fangs now, and her brown body was tinged with green. Her eyes were a piercing violet.

"Hey mom, I'm back. How have you been?" Flame asked gently. The ice dragoness turned towards Flame and muttered something intelligible. Flame looked up to the old healer, who shook her head.

"She's improved since last week, but her delirium is still prevalent. Did ye get what I asked for?" She directed the last question to Conflagris.

"Yes, Svellb. I have it here." The large fire dragon murmured, gesturing to the ice boar still visible through the door.

"Well harvest it then. I can't do it and prepare the poultice at the same time!" Svellb commanded in her creaky voice. She turned to a small table where a bag of herbs lay.

"Flame, Autumn, can you prepare the bear and seals for storage? I will get this beasties' spleen for Svellb."

The two siblings nodded and left the room to gather up the three carcasses. Conflagris turned back to the ice dragoness and planted a small kiss on her forehead.

"Don't worry Milona. You will get better soon. Just be patient."

Milona moaned and coughed in response, but her eyes never opened. Conflagris turned from the room and gathered up the boar.

The three dragons worked in unison, skinning, gutting and carving the meat from the bones. Flame worked on the seals he had caught, separating all of their parts into different piles. Autumn worked on the giant bear, but copied Flame in design. Conflagris moved with more intense care. Carefully carving up the stringy beast and reaching inside to root around in its guts. After several minutes of searching, he produced a slick organ, it was different from the others as it was a snow white in colour, and smelled faintly of peppermint.

Svellb swooped in and took the spleen from Conflagris. She then returned back to her herb work, clutching the spleen like it was a new born child. Finished his important task, Conflagris proceeded to carve the boar up, as his children did.

Flame was the first to finish. Taking some of the meat and organs from one of his piles, he started up a small furnace and began frying up their meal. He threw in some of the few spices they had in store with a casual motion, sprinkling the precious herbs with practiced grace.

Autumn finished next, she gathered up all of the meats from both hers and her brother's piles and left the house to store it in the back freezer, taking several trips to do so. Once she had returned, she picked up all of the hides, from both of the seals, and the bear and started tanning them.

Conflagris finished the boar not long after and put the meat away back in the freezer store room and then busied himself crafting tools from the beasts' bones and claws. Everyone busied themselves with their chores. Each worked diligently, accepting the fact that they had to work together without complaint to survive in this brutal world.

"Dad!" Flame called out to his father over the sizzling of frying meat. "Is mom going to get better soon?"

"Of course Flame," Conflagris said, tying a thick bear claw to a wide bone to make an ice pick, "she will be up and well before you know it."

"It's just that ever since she got hit with that poison arrow, she has barely left bed. I am starting to worry that…"

"Flame!" Autumn scolded, looking up from her tanning and glaring at her brother. "She is going to get better!"

Flame sighed and returned to his cooking.

Svellb finished grinding the snow white spleen of the ice boar into a thick paste and carefully scooped it into a bowl. Then, taking the mixture of herbs she had prepared while waiting for the spleen to be harvested, she poured the paste into the mixture and started to stir them together. They blended easily into a greyish slop.

The old, brown earth dragoness healer shuffled over to the bed Milona lay upon and pulled the blanket away. A thick, white bandage covered one of her forelegs. Placing the bowl down on a small bedside table, Svellb peeled the bandage back. She grimaced at both the sight and the smell. The wound beneath was a sickly sight, puffy flesh oozed pus, the ice blue scales were falling away from the dying skin like leaves from a tree.

"Ach, I had hoped my earlier poultice would have slowed the venom down."

Taking a small knife in her paw, Svellb carefully cut away the dead flesh, peeling away the rot to reveal the clean wound beneath. Taking the bowl of grey sludge in one paw, and turning the sleeping dragoness over, she slowly poured the mixture onto the wound.

The effect was immediate; Milona cried out in pain and jerked away from the healer. Instantly Conflagris was in the room.

"What was that! What is going on?" He roared a look of distress over his features.

"Hold her down!" Svellb commanded, trying to keep the writhing ice dragoness still as she continued to apply the medicine. Conflagris looked between the healer and his mate, wavering.

"Do ye want to save her or not!" Svellb growled, just managing to keep hold of the bowl after Milona hit it with her flailing paws. Conflagris ran over and forced Milona back on to the bed, whispering sweet nonsense to her.

With her patient back under control, Svellb poured the rest of the concoction onto the wound. The mixture bubbled as if boiling over the wound.

"What is it doing?" Conflagris asked, panicked. Flame and Autumn appeared at the door, worried.

"The ice boar's spleen, when mixed with certain herbs is known to be able to kill off most kinds of poison." Svellb grunted, taking a clean bandage and wrapping it over the wound. "This should purge the venom and save her life."

"SHOULD!"

"There is always room for maybes in medicine. But it is her best chance for survival. The only other option would have been to remover her leg. Do ye want that instead?"

"Well, no…"

"Then be silent!" Svellb hissed. She finished tying the bandage on and backed away. "I will remove the bandage in two hours' time, and clean out the wound. If it hasn't finished purging the poison by then, then there is no hope of her keeping her leg. Until then… Is that seal nuggets I smell?"

Svellb limped out of the room and eyed the pan of frying meat eagerly.

"Yes ma'am." Flame nodded, walking over and moving the pan from the furnace. "Do you want some?" He asked, offering her the pan. Without replying Svellb picked a nugget from the pan and popped it into her mouth.

"Mm. Young Flame, ye are as excellent a cook as your mother." Svellb sighed after swallowing the treat.

"Thanks." Flame blushed, putting the pan down on the table. Conflagris and Autumn joined Flame and Svellb in the main room, and sat down for their meal. When each had taken their fill of the crispy seal nuggets, Conflagris cleared his throat to speak the moment of grace.

"We thank you, dear ancestors, for giving us this chance at life. Were it not for you, we would never have emerged in this world, so ripe with life. Even in these dark times, even in the harshest of lands we thrive, because you gave us the will to live. So we thank you, dear ancestors, for your sacrifices, and your dreams, and for your sweat and blood, for it is what let us live this day. You have passed the torch, and we will continue the struggle. Be at peace."

"Be at peace." Autumn, Flame and Svellb intoned once the fire dragon had finished, bowing their heads. And with the meal finished, and the night bells ringing, they set off to bed. Svellb and Conflagris returned to Milona's side to watch over her, while Flame and Autumn returned to their beds, for their night's rest.

* * *

><p>"Come on, get up!" An anxious voice cut through Flame's dream of cheese muffin surprise and he woke with a start. He sat up blearily, blinking several times to clear his vision. Autumn stood above him, the ice dragoness's face inches away from his. He started back in alarm.<p>

"What!" He cried in shock, and then yawned tiredly.

"Mom's awake." Autumn whispered, excitedly. Flame's exhaustion instantly vanished, replaced by nervous excitement.

"Is she alright?"

"See for yourself." Autumn snickered, leading Flame from his room and into their parent's room. Conflagris sat next to Milona, a look of relief on his face. Svellb sat on the other side of the bed, examining the wound beneath the bandage. Milona's eyes were half open, and she spoke weakly with her mate.

"Mom!" Flame cried out in joy and rushed over to her side, grinning. Milona turned her eyes to Flame and smiled warmly.

"Morning Flame, how was your sleep?"

Flame embraced her, all but throwing himself onto the bed. "I'm so happy you're okay! We've been so worried!" Flame wept, burying his face into her shoulder.

"Flame," Conflagris scolded, shaking his head, "she is still not well. Don't go tackling your mother while she is trying to recover."

"Oh shush now, Conflagris," Milona chided, hugging Flame back, "it has been a long time since I have gotten to hug our babies."

"Oh come on mom, I am not a dragonling anymore." Flame complained, releasing Milona and climbing off of the bed.

"So I hear! Two seals. Why Autumn was about your age when she caught her first all by herself."

"Mother! Don't tell him that!" Autumn whined, stepping up beside Flame. Her fire dragon brother glanced over at her, a smug smirk of superiority on his face. Autumn sighed. "Great now look at what you've done…"

"Come here honey," Milona smiled, "I need a hug from you too."

Autumn complied, a childish grin creeping onto her face.

"The injury is healing smoothly." Svellb declared, replacing the bandage. "The swelling has gone down and it looks like the poison has disappeared. I suspect another week in bed and ye will be able to get back to your normal lives."

"Thank goodness." Conflagris exclaimed tiredly.

"However," Svellb declared, cutting off the cries of delight, "it would heal much faster, and with less complications if I had some life crystals. Me stock ran out a few days ago when a group of hunters came back from an expedition into Dante's Freezer."

Milona and Conflagris looked at her nervously. Svellb continued on, seeing their hesitation.

"I was going to request another group to go out and resupply, but I have been too busy with Milona here. With the poison gone, I can use life crystals to close the wound, but I need someone to go out for some. If ye would be so kind as to gather some for me, I would gladly heal the wound, and leave ye some to spare."

Conflagris and Milona eyed each other with concern. The nearest crystal garden was dangerously close to Dante's Freezer. By going to get some they risked attack from the numerous predators that lurked there.

"You don't have to go." Milona whispered. "My wound will heal regardless, I will be fine."

"But with no life crystals in stock every dragon here is at risk." Conflagris argued. "And like she said, there is always the possibility for complications in healing. Your wound could become infected while we wait. Plus she promised to give us some; we could use a supply of our own. Think how much safer we will be while out hunting if we had life crystals to heal our wounds."

Milona relented. "Alright, but just be careful, I don't want to recover only to lose you while on a pointless quest to make me heal faster."

Conflagris nodded in promise, and pecked her on the forehead with a kiss. "I will head out immediately. I'll return with two sacks of crystals, Svellb. Your stock will have plenty to spare."

Svellb nodded in thanks.

"Can I come too, dad?" Flame asked, perking up at the thought of and adventure.

"No Flame, it will be too dangerous."

"But I am a great fighter! You said so yourself. Plus I could carry another sack; we could bring back more crystals. Please dad, I really want to help."

Flame looked at his father, eyes pleading, Conflagris sighed. "Fine! But you have to stay away from as much fighting as possible; if you have to run away, then head straight back to home. I can take care of myself, so no heroics."

Flame nodded, realising this was the best offer he would get.

"We will leave immediately." Conflagris reaffirmed, and then he moved close to his mate and kissed her gently on the snout. He then turned and left the room. Kissing his daughter on the head as he headed out. Flame moved to follow, but Milona stopped him.

"Just be careful Flame, I don't want to lose you either."

"Don't worry mom, I will be fine." Flame promised. He kissed his mom on the cheek, and hugged Autumn goodbye. "I love you!" Flame called as he left the room.

The two hunters packed up all of their supplies, donning their many furs and collecting their survival gear. Once the two were prepared, the set off, promising to return soon. They hurried out of the mountain village, and took off into the now clear skies. They had no idea what was coming from the south; no idea that their lives would be changed forever. No idea that their frozen paradise would be wreathed in flames.

**Characters created by Dardarax:**

Conflagris

Milona

Autumn

Svellb

Slick

This was rather short considering the time it took to bring out. But since I had also been doing a great many other things at the time, I feel content. It was originally going to be longer, but I realised this was the best place to end it for now, especially with that dramatic ending. ;)

In case you are wondering no this is not the second resurrection; it takes place before that, six years before that. In fact, this chapter takes place just before the end of DotD. This will be a full length story, not a flimsy short one, and I think I will update this every two chapters I update on Dark Legacy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was fun to write, but things heat up (literally) in chapter two, so bring some burn salve. :P


	2. Up In Flames

Chapter 2. Up in Flames

The wind had fallen to a mere gust now, and the giant clouds and driving snow had all but vanished over the horizon revealing the countless stars above, and the brightening of the sky to the west as the sun rose. Flame and Conflagris stepped out onto the mountain ledge and took to the skies. They soared blissfully over the frozen plains of ice and snow below, revelling in the rare opportunity to stretch their wings and feel the wind beneath them rush past. They swooped and dived playfully, content to enjoy the moment.

They did not speak as they flew; overjoyed with the feeling of the air beneath their wings, and the knowledge that Milona was back on the road to recovery. But slowly, as they neared their destination, the cheerfulness faded, to be replaced by a nervous tension from the knowledge they were putting their lives in danger on this mission.

It was past noon when Dante's Freezer, one of the most dangerous places in the arctic, a frozen battleground sheeted with ice, came into view over the horizon. Ancient war machines stood unmanned in the desolate plains. The figures of armored warriors and soldiers lay half buried beneath the snow, along with the massive fortress that had once stood here. Flame surveyed the dreadful land before them, grateful he would not have to venture too far into it.

Conflagris took them to the ground at an easy glide, and landed in the soft, powdery snow that carpeted the land.

"Now, if I remember right, the garden should be in a cave somewhere nearby..." The adult dragon murmured softly to himself, looking around the clearing. He then moved off to the right, deeper into the icy battleground. Flame followed him uncertainly, glancing around at the devastation as he went.

They passed by the figure of a frozen solider as they moved off into the battlefield, the armored creature buried up to its neck in snow and ice, with only its horned helmet was visible. As they moved deeper in, more and more armored figures could be seen. Each frozen in place in countless different positions. Some seemed to crawl across the battleground, arrows sticking out from their bodies. Others appeared to be locked in mortal combat, weapons raised to strike.

A sudden movement out of the corner of Flame's eye made him whirl around, heart hammering as he prepared for an attack. He blinked in surprise, there was nothing there; he could have sworn he had seen one of the warriors move. The young dragon shook his head. These creatures had been frozen here for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, there was no way they could be alive.

"Must have been the snow." Flame thought, turning away from the eerie statue. "The snow made it look like it moved. That has to be it."

"FLAME!" Conflagris shouted, startling the young dragon and making him leap several feet into the air. "I found the cave, hurry up!"

Flame rushed over to his father, and stopped beside him. Before them, a large cave gaped; the icicles that hung from the ceiling gave it the appearance of a great, hungry maw ready to swallow any intruders. Flame gulped.

"Let's go." Conflagris grunted, setting off into the cave. Flame followed behind a moment later.

At first it was nearly too dark to see, with only the light of the entrance outside guiding them safely down the path. But as they ventured further into the cave, a soft glow started to emanate from further within. Upon seeing the light, the two raced forward towards it.

They came to a stop as they entered the next room, and Flame gasped with awe at the sight before him. The cavern was encrusted with crystals, everywhere, from walls, the floor, even the ceiling, massive clusters of crystals grew.

Red, green, even some blue grew in patches all over the cave. It reminded Flame of a geode he had once seen in Svelb's hut.

"Flame, you go over to the left for that patch of crystals, I'll go over there." Conflagris gestured over to a small grove of crystals over on Flame's right. "Get some magic and spirit gems while you're over there, they may come in handy some other time."

The young red dragon nodded in agreement and padded over to the grove of jewels. Along the way he struck a few clusters of crystals, and they broke like glass beneath his paw. The shards fell to the floor with chiming clinks and Flame gathered them up in the sack he carried.

It took close to half an hour to fill all three sacks, and by the end, nearly a fifth of the cave was stripped of glowing crystals. Flame hefted his bag and tied a strong in the drawstrings to keep it tightly shut on the journey home. He then hauled it onto his back and strapped it into place. Flame grunted at the motion, it was heavy, really really heavy.

Conflagris repeated his son's motion a moment later with his two sacks, both bulging with their valuable contents. Conflagris sighed.

"This should be more than enough, Flame. Let's go."

"Alright, dad." Flame grunted, adjusting the sack into a more comfortable position.

A sudden quake staggered the two dragons. They stumbled and bumped into the walls of the cave as they tried to keep their footing. The quake subsided, and then a moment later, another quake rocked the ground.

"What the...!" Conflagris cried, trying to get his paws back steadily underneath him. The quakes continued at a steady rhythm, almost like a slow drumbeat. Flame counted the seconds between each quake... Five... Ten... Twenty, and then a quake.

"Let's get out of this cave." Conflagris shouted, panic rising as he realized they weren't safe in the cavern. They rushed out of the crystal garden and back out into the light. The quakes grew stronger as they progressed, as if their cause was slowly approaching them.

"What's going on?" Flame's father cursed as he nearly tripped from the shuddering earth. He heard Flame gasp as they stumbled out of the cave, and blinking, he looked to where his son was looking. His muzzle fell open in horror.

A gargantuan, two legged creature was walking across the frozen landscape. It appeared to be formed of rock and fire, and it towered easily as high as their mountain refuge. Lava dripped out of it like sweat as it trudged through the wasteland, and behind it, a vast wall of flames boiled up to the smoke darkened sky. The massive beast's footsteps echoed across the land, followed by a shuddering of the earth. Distantly, they could make out what appeared to be ruins atop its shoulders. They could feel the heat of the wall of flames from where they stood, drowning out the icy cold and turning the battleground into a sauna.

"Dad…" Flame murmured, breathless with fright. "What is that?"

"I… I don't know." Conflagris answered, shivering at the sight. The beast continued its march across the arctic wastes, the earth quaking beneath its footsteps. It was an ominous sight, and it sent spikes of chilling terror down his spine as the creature made its way north, the vast wall of fire trailing in its wake.

A sharp splintering sound echoed around the area and Conflagris jerked around to face it. Waves of heat washed over the area and the ice beneath their paws quivered. Realization struck Conflagris all at once, and he turned around to face Flame, who had also turned to look for the sound.

"RUN! The snow and ice is melting! The whole area is going to flood!" Conflagris screamed. Flame stared at his father in shock for a moment, and then he bolted for the edge of Dante's Freezer, his father hot on his heels.

They had only just reached the edge of the frozen battleground when the ice split open, and a torrent of water exploded out, released from its icy prison. The icy water washed over the melting battleground, growing from a small stream to a giant wave as more of the ice and snow melted from the intense heat of the magma beast's flame.

The two fire dragons raced the growing wave of water towards the relative safety of a nearby ruined tower, filled with absolute terror as the looming threat approached. Behind them, the rapidly swelling wave raced towards them with impossible speed, towering over the two like a monument of doom, swallowing up everything in its path.

"Flame, Drop the crystals!" Conflagris shouted as they ran. Flame, who was lagging behind overburdened by his load tried desperately to keep up, feeling hopeless fear rising as the wave gained ground. The young dragon hesitated only for a second before slashing the straps of the bag off of him, and letting the sack fall to the ground. Flame glanced back only once as they neared shelter, and watched with dismay as the sack was devoured by the water.

They made it to the tower and up a single fight of stair before the wave hit the tower. The whole structure shook at the impact, the entrance flooding within seconds. Flame and Conflagris tore up the stairs panicked as the tower shook, the water beneath them rising as more and more water poured in.

The wave passed surged the tower, but couldn't topple it, and the two staggered up onto the top of the tower. They stopped, panting from the exhausting race they had just won, and looked around. What they saw stunned them into silence. Water stretched out, as far as the eye could see. A sea of icy water, melted from the ice and snow of the land. The tips of ruined towers and other structures stuck up out of the water, the only reminder that this place had once been the icy battle ground of Dante's Freezer. The lava beast was nowhere to be seen, but the wall of fire it left behind still raged in its wake, unquenched even by the sea of water.

"Ancestors above." Conflagris whispered in horror, looking around for any sign of dry land.

"What are we going to do?" Flame asked, in a hushed, fearful tone. Conflagris could only shake his head.

"I don't know. I just don't know."

They sat in silence, looking across the newly made sea. The two dragons eyed the wall of fire that stretched from horizon to horizon, which billowed black smoke and clouds of steam. A vast barrier of black and white towered into the sky, all but shrouding the flames from view. The quakes had stopped along with the disappearance of the monster.

Hours passed as they stared out at the sea trying to comprehend what had just happened. Finally, as the sun approach the horizon Conflagris spoke.

"I think the water is shallow enough for us to start making our return journey home. Most of it seems to have evaporated."

"Couldn't we just fly, dad?" Flame inquired, looking at his father puzzled. Conflagris nodded.

"We will, but with my packs we'll need to land often, and if the water is too deep, we won't have anywhere to land."

"Oh. But do we need the packs? Wouldn't it be better if we got home as soon as possible?"

"I think we'll need them. Who knows what might have happened while we were gone. These crystals will be needed now more than ever."

"I suppose…"

"Come on, Flame. Let's go." Conflagris moved to strap on his packs again, but Flame stopped him.

"I'll carry one too. I lost mine in the flood, so I will carry one of yours."

Conflagris looked as if he was going to argue, and then thought better of it. He shoved his pack over to Flame, who strapped it on. With the crystals securely tied onto the dragon's backs, they took off, flying high over the water as they turned back in the direction of their mountain home.

"I just hope nothing has happened to them." Conflagris thought, worried as he took the lead, Flame not far behind. Flame and Conflagris stopped frequently during their flight, landing on outcrops of rock and hills when they could, and splashing through shallow waters when they couldn't. The level of the water dropped as they flew, the heat from the fire evaporating the water as quickly as a desert sun. Even though they were fire dragons, they were used to the arctic cold and the heat was unbearable. They found the sauna-like-heat draining. Yet, their honed arctic instincts refused to abandon their fur coats.

They were wading through shallow melt-off water, still dozens of miles from their destination when a long, shuddering groan caused the two to stop in their tracks.

"Dad...?" Flame asked, fear beginning to edge back into his voice as they stood stalk still in the waist high water.

Conflagris was about to answer when the earthquake hit. They were knocked off their paws and sent sprawling into the water as the tremors rocked the ground like a ship at sea. The water around them, which had been calm and placid, jumped and sloshed to and fro, creating small waves that jarred them even further.

"What's... Going on?" Flame choked through mouthfuls of water as he struggled back up to his paws.

Another long groan came from the ground beneath them, and an earth shattering cracking noise reverberated around them. The quakes abruptly stopped, and the two floundered to their paws, looking at each other with shocked and anxious expressions.

The world split open beneath their paws.

Flame screamed as the water rushed into the vast crevice that shrieked open nearby, They braced themselves against the flood as it flowed into the hole like a whirlpool. More and more crevices tore open, the world shuddering as it seemed to rip itself apart. The two fur shrouded fire dragons clung to the sodden frost packed earth with all their might as the shallow sea was drained away.

Flame started to feel the swell of panic as the world quaked and spasmed beneath his paws, he could hardly breathe through the flood of water as it flowed past him. A sudden geyser of steam erupted in the distance as a column of molten magma exploded from out of the earth nearly touching the clouds before spilling back down into the sea of melted ice.

"Fly Flame! Fly!" Conflagris roared over the grinding of the dying world. "It isn't safe on the ground! Fly!"

Flame unfurled his wings and tried to balance himself enough to take flight, it was difficult but he managed it. Once the young red was out of the water and off the ground he quickly ascended so that he was well clear of the cataclysm around him. Conflagris too, struggled up into the air, and made it just as another crevice opened up where he had been.

The two hovered there, panting and staring around them in horror. The world below shook and shuddered and vast chasms grinded open across the now drained surface of the once frozen plains. The wall of fire that blazed in the distance raged even higher than before, blotting out the sky. Flame watched a family of snowbears charging across the plains, roaring in fear as they were swallowed up by geyser of molten rock.

A shrieking of rock on rock sounded below, and Conflagris glanced down to see what it was. His jaw fell open in amazement. A vast section of the ground slowly pulled away from the world, and ascended into the sky. It ground its way up, frozen dirt pouring off of the rock as it made its way up out of the crust of the world. In the distance, more chunks of earth started to break away from the world, grinding out of the earth with screeches of stone on stone.

Flame, burning with curiosity, flew a little closer to the chunk of rock.

"Wait, Flame!" Conflagris shouted, fear echoing in his voice.

The piece of the world finally tore itself free from the world, and hung suspended in thin air, floating without any supports. A howling rush of wind rushed into the vacuum gap that had opened up with the separation of land, catching Flame and sending him spinning out of control into the abyss, screaming in absolute terror as he was dragged into the darkness, his sack of crystals torn from his back.

Conflagris wasted only a second in taking off after his son, cutting away his own bag of crystals and free falling after Flame. He plummeted down into the black hole left in the world, hurtling after his son like a red comet.

Flame struggled desperately to regain control as he sped into the abyss, twisting this way and that, trying to right himself so he could halt his plunge. Abruptly the long chasm he had been falling through vanished, and Flame found himself in a colossal cavern that stretched into oblivion. There was only darkness of the cave, along with a pool of lava pouring into the chasm to light the darkness.

Conflagris suddenly appeared and swooped over to his son, spreading out his wings and grabbing the younger dragon in his forepaws, halting his fall.

"Are you alright!" Conflagris demanded of his son worriedly, looking him over for any injuries as he slowed to a hover.

"Yeah, thanks dad." Flame sighed in relief, sagging a little, relaxing his tensed body. Conflagris reluctantly let Flame go and the young dragon stretched out his wings and hovered alongside his father. The distant grinding of pieces of the world echoed around the massive cavern. Flame looked down to the bottom of the cavern; there was no sign of a bottom, only endless darkness.

"Dad...?" Flame asked, looking back up at his father, his expression fearful. "Is the world ending?" He asked with resignation, as if he knew already knew the answer. Conflagris looked at his son, feeling the hopelessness of the situation welling up in him as well.

"I... I don't know." Conflagris replied after a long moment, and Flame looked down despairingly. They both knew the truth: the world was coming to an end. Whole chunks of the world's crust were being pulled out like pieces of a giant puzzle, and sent floating up into the sky; there was no other explanation for what could be happening.

"I just... I just wish I could have gotten to see mom, and Autumn one more time." Flame choked, tears threatening to overwhelm him. Conflagris blinked back tears of his own, and he glided over to Flame whose red body was shaking with sorrow and fear.

They hovered close together, comforting each other in their last moments, grieving for the life they would never live, and the family they would never see again.

Then, suddenly, a faint light shone from the depths of the abyss below, a pure white incandescence through the pitch blackness of the void. Flame blinked in surprise and looked down towards the distant light, which grew more intense with each passing second. Conflagris noticed the light too, and watched it, puzzled.

_"Is this the end?"_ He thought gravely as the light approached. _"Are we about to die?"_

The light neared, and Conflagris shut his eyes tight, and grabbed hold of Flame in one last final embrace, tears streaking his face. Flame also clamped onto his father, tense as he waited for death to claim them. The light flew past them like a flood, engulfing the two in brilliant whiteness, passing them by completely unharmed.

It felt like a gentle breeze to the two, who then opened their eyes startled. The entire world was now brightly lit and they could clearly see the holes in the world above, which had all but shattered into a million pieces. The incessant quakes and shudders that had filled the cavern with noise abruptly ceased, leaving the two in total silence for a moment as the light bathed the broken fragments of the world in its radiance.

Then, the low grinding started up again, but this time it was different. Instead of the screech of stone on stone as the world tore itself apart, this was a low rumble of stone falling back into place.

Conflagris and Flame watched, astounded as the floating pieces of the world started to fit back together. It appeared haphazard, with many fragments not returning to their original places.

"It's... It's going back! The world isn't ending!" Flame cheered, a wide smile breaking out across his features. Conflagris felt giddy relief wash over him, and he hugged his son tighter in joy.

"We're safe! We're safe Flame! Oh it's good to be alive, now we can..." Conflagris stopped in mid-sentence as one of the fragments ground into place, sealing a portion of the world above from view. He glanced down at Flame, sudden panic taking hold. "THE SURFACE! WE HAVE TO GET TO THE SURFACE!"

Flame looked at his father uncomprehending for a moment, then realization struck. If they didn't reach the surface, they would be trapped down here, under the world's surface never able to escape. They broke away from each other and took off towards the nearest gap in the world's crust.

Conflagris let Flame take the lead, out of fear he might lose his son and accidentally leave him behind. They sped into the crevice that lead back up to the surface, dodging the many falling rocks and debris as it fell. They wound through the twisting passage that lead at an almost vertical angle up.

As they ascended, Conflagris soon noticed the crevice growing smaller, as the pieces slowly ground back into place. The exit back out to the surface was still far away, and the passage walls were getting uncomfortably close to his wings.

Conflagris pushed himself harder, wings pumping as they shot up towards safety, breath coming out in hard gasps. Flame, spurred on by his father's increased struggle also picked up the pace, straining his muscles to their upmost limit to reach the top, eyes squeezed almost shut and breathing hard.

Despite their rapid pace, the exit seemed too far off, and the walls were now brushing Conflagris's out stretched wing tips, forcing him to withdraw slightly. It was then that it came to him, sharp and painful as a knife in his heart: He wouldn't make it. The gap would be too small for him to fly through by the time he got anywhere near the surface. Even now he was being forced to draw his wings in, inch by inch, slowing his ascent as surely as the walls moved in to crush them. Flame was further ahead now, not impaired by a larger wing span, and was gaining ground faster than his father.

Conflagris took a long shuddering breath at the implications of his thoughts. He knew now he would have no chance of making it out, but Flame was small enough, and further enough ahead to make it. But the adult dragon also knew his son would never abandon him, even if it meant he would escape. Conflagris's wings were now a quarter of the way drawn in, and he was finding it difficult to flap his wings to gain altitude. The exit was now in sight, but was still too distant to see clearly in the dim light of the passage.

_"Flame must make it."_ Conflagris thought, determinedly as he gradually made his way up, gritting his fangs as the rock scraped against his wings. _"I won't let him die, even if I have to. He still has so much to live for. So much to see and experience. I've lived my life, and though I wish I could keep on living it, I'm content with what I've done. Flame doesn't deserve to die yet. And I won't let him."_

"Flame!" Conflagris called out to his son over the grating sound of stone on stone as the crevice slowly but surely closed in to crush them.

"Yeah dad?" Flame called back looking down to his father, only now realizing how far behind he was.

"I love you, and I'm sorry." Conflagris took a deep breath, gathering all of his magic up into himself, and then released it all in an explosion of heat energy up towards his son. The wave of superheated air caught Flame's wings like a tidal wave, and sent him rocketing up the passage shaft, towards the exit. Flame, screamed as he was shot up the passage like an arrow, not just from fear, but also from the realization that his father had given up, and sacrificed himself for him.

"DAD! NOOO!" Flame howled in grief, tears welling up in his eyes as he hurtled towards the surface in an uncontrollable ascent. Far below, Conflagris smiled sadly, as he watched his son vanish in the distance, quickly approaching safety high above.

"I'm so sorry Flame. I hope you'll forgive me." He whispered, half in prayer half to himself, closing his eyes as tears flowed freely down his saddened face. "Take care of yourself, find a good mate and be happy. Don't waste your life on pointless things, and enjoy every moment. If you can find them again, take good care of your sister and mother, and never look back."

Then, with a long, painful sigh, Conflagris folded his wings, his ascent slowed to a stop, and then he fell back into the abyss, eyes closed and a small, sad smile creasing his features.

"Remember I will always love you, son."

The walls of the passage rushed by Flame in a blur, the stone walls of the crevice bashed up against him as the momentum gained from the hot wind carried him up. Sharp rocks cut through his fur coat and tore long gashes into him as he went.

_"Why dad? Why? We could have made it together._" Flame thought mournfully, tears streaking his face. _"You didn't have to do this, it isn't fair! You can' t leave me like this. You can't leave mom and sis."_

And then suddenly there was light, bright and vibrant. A wash of colour as Flame was expelled violently from the crevice. Green, brown, a rainbow of other colours along with the smell of warm, fresh air. Flame revelled in it for a moment, forgetting for a moment the horror of losing what might be his last family member. And then there was a blinding flash of pain as his head met with something hard, stars erupted in his vision, and he thumped heavily to the ground, like a rag doll.

As darkness claimed him, Flame could just vaguely make out the sight of the crevice he had come through grinding shut, closing forever on what lay below. And then sweet oblivion took him, and he saw no more.

* * *

><p>The birds sang sweetly in the warm morning of the forest, the songs joyful and clear, full of hope and wonder. The skies were clear, with only a few clouds speckling the vibrant blue of the noon sky. Trees in the forest were upturned, and mounds of dirt littered the area. A great disaster had occurred, that had shaken the very world apart. Yet, despite the terror and horror of the disaster, the world still lived, tranquil and content.<p>

The village that the small forest sheltered had hardly been affected by the sundering of the world. The quakes had knocked down some trees, ruined several houses, but overall the damage was far from severe. The villagers worked, talking excitedly among themselves. They all knew what had happened, but none knew of its cause or meaning. They had all seen the chunks of earth pulling free from the world, and knew that the world was coming to an end. They had waited hopelessly for their lives to be snuffed out, families huddling together awaiting the inevitable. And then miraculously a great light had appeared and pulled it all back together again.

Now, as they worked to repair the damage to their homes and village, they felt a sensation they had not felt for years: Hope. Something extraordinary had just happened, something amazing. So little had happened that was good in these dark times that the thought that something, anything, had changed for the better was exciting to consider.

The village was large for a settlement of its kind, sporting a population of nearly three hundred people. Most were dragons who had fled Malefor's genocide, but a scattering of felines, canines and avians also made up a good portion of the populace.

Their houses were made of sturdy wooden logs, and camouflaged with leaves, grass and mud. If one did not know what to look for, they would have never found the hidden village, it was what kept them safe for all these years.

Out at the rim of the village, a young pink dragoness wandered around, picking flowers and plants and stuffing them in a braided basket hanging around her neck. She was slightly built, only a bit larger in size than normal for dragonesses her age. She had baby blue eyes, ram like horns, and a long frill that ran down her back to the tip of her tail, which ended in a heart shaped spike. An old heart shaped pendant of gold and ruby hung around her neck, and braids of small flowers were twined around her ram horns.

She worked diligently, picking many of the herbs that littered the forest floor. She was careful, but swift, packing the plants into the basket she carried and moving on to the next patch of herbs she came across. After nearly half an hour of picking, the dragoness stretched and looked up from her work, blinking to clear her vision after staring so hard at the ground.

She examined her surroundings with interest now, a whimsical smile creasing her features. This day was special, she could feel that. Until today, she had never truly appreciated how beautiful the world was, and how wonderful she had it. When the world had been literally crumbling around her, the realisation of everything she would miss had come crashing down, ripping her apart and bringing her to tears. But then everything had abruptly returned to normal, and the dragoness had suddenly found herself marvelling at things she had once thought mundane, seeing how incredible everything truly was.

The dragoness sighed and turned back to the village. She looked at everything with child-like-wonder as she entered the village and made her way to the healers hut. There had been no deaths during the cataclysm, but many had been injured from falling debris and objects. One poor villager's house had collapsed on top of him, breaking many of his bones, but amazingly not killing him. The pink dragoness, along with several other young dragons had been sent out to collect herbs for the healers, who had been running low on medicine even before the disaster.

The dragoness was so busy marvelling at her surroundings that she nearly walked past the healer's hut, but she was brought up short by a friendly voice calling to her.

"Hey Ember! The infirmary is over here!"

Ember, the pink dragoness looked sharply towards the voice and smiled.

"Oh, Liliah, I didn't see you there!" Ember rushed over to the grass green earth dragoness and hugged her tight. Liliah was short and slim, with six horns sprouting from her head. Her blue eyes smiled as they embraced.

"Oh, Ember, I wasn't sure we were going to make it. I thought we were all going to die!"

"I know! I thought I would never get to eat one of your mom's meat pies ever again!" Ember laughed, Liliah pushed her away, looking at her incredulously.

"What! We were all going to die, and you wanted a pie!"

Ember snickered at her dumbfounded face. "Of course, they're to **die** for!"

Liliah groaned and shook her head. "That's not funny."

"Neither are you, sour puss." Ember declared haughtily, marching into the healers hut with a glib smirk. Liliah followed after, grumbling.

Ember shrugged her basket off and dropped it onto the floor in the entrance of the healer's hut. She could see the shapes of patients lying on mats, groaning at their injuries, and the figures of the three healers moving around the area tending to them. Ember turned and pranced out as Liliah came in. The green earth dragoness took her own basket off hurriedly and scrambled off after Ember back out into the village.

Ember greeted all of the villagers cheerfully as she made her way back to her own house. Ember's home was smaller than most of the other villager's houses. It was squat, but wide and covered with grass to hide it from view. Two tiny windows peeked out from beneath the long strands of grass, and could be easily shuttered so they would vanish among the growth.

Ember opened the carefully hidden door and slipped inside, Liliah following close behind. The interior of the hut was modest in decoration, with a few straw mattresses, wooden tables and wool cushions. The walls, where on the outside were mud and grass, were actually warm cherry wood logs all placed tightly together. The smell of sizzling pork roast wafted around the hut, and Ember sighed contentedly.

"Grandma, I'm home!"

An elderly pink dragoness stepped into the main room, and grinned warmly. "Ember! Just in time for some lunch. Hello Liliah, come, you're welcome to join us." The decrepit dragoness turned back into the kitchen and the two younger dragonesses eagerly followed.

Ember and Liliah lined up at the table, and sliced themselves generous portions from the steaming roast. They ate slowly, savouring the meal they had not thought they would ever eat again.

Grandma sliced the rest of the roast and wrapped it up in several small packages. Once the two young dragonesses finished their meal, The elder placed the packages in front of them.

"Would you two be dears and give these out to the boys who are fixing my garden shed? They have been working so hard and deserve a nice lunch."

"Yes Grandma." Ember chirped, smiling slyly as she grabbed a basket, picked up half of the packages, and plopped them inside. Liliah followed suit, and they padded out of the front door. They turned right and walked around to the back of the house, where they caught sight of several male dragons working on a half collapsed shed in the middle of a garden patch. Two grey wind dragon brothers threw fresh planks of wood up to a yellow lightning dragon, who caught them and held them in place for a large green earth dragon who hammered it into place with nails and his hammer-like tail. A fire and ice dragon sawed planks of wood from logs piled nearby. They chattered boisterously as they worked, laughing at jokes that only males could understand.

The moment they came into sight, Ember's walk changed to a strut. She started moving her body to accentuate her best features. Her expression however, remained sly and calculating as she approached them, her muzzle pulled into a small smirk.

When she came into view the males immediately stopped working to stare as she approached. Behind her, Liliah sighed and rolled her eyes, disgusted at the Ember's sudden change. Ember strutted over to the nearest male, and smiled up at him.

"Why hello there." She all but purred, eyeing him with interest. "I've got a little present for you all, for being so helpful and kind for helping us with our shed. Please, I insist." Ember opened the basket with care, and handed the wind dragon in front of her one of the wrapped packages. He took it, but was too busy staring at Ember. The pink dragoness winked, and the male blushed lightly.

Ember moved on, padding over to his brother and giving him a package. "It's a pork roast, grandma made it special for you. You deserve the best for being so sweet as to help us."

Liliah pursed her lips in disdain as she and her friend handed out the packages. The males took them, but no one paid any attention to Liliah, all of their eyes were fixed on Ember.

The pink dragoness reached the ice dragon who had been sawing, and eyed him up and down slowly. He blushed madly as she moved up to him, and handed him the last package, a low purr escaping her throat.

"And who is this strong dragon? You certainly are a stud, aren't you? I wonder..." Ember trailed off, and prowled around him as if to examine him. He stood stalk still, eyes wide like a frightened deer, his face almost crimson.

Liliah coughed, and Ember looked up at her and sighed sadly.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have to go out and get more herbs. Maybe we can continue this conversation some other time..." Ember disengaged from the ice dragon and moved away at a leisurely pace. The other males glared at the ice jealously as the two females left. The ice just stared off after Ember, a look of disbelief on his face.

Ember and Liliah entered the forest, and were quickly lost from view. The moment they were out of earshot, Ember's strutting facade collapsed and she burst into peels of laughter. The pink dragoness nearly toppling over and was forced to lean on a tree for support as she howled in glee, tears starting to roll down her face with the violence of her laughter.

"Did you... Did you see the looks on their faces!"

Liliah shook her head in exasperation as her pink friend laughed hysterically.

"That wasn't funny Ember!" Liliah scolded, frowning at Ember, who ignored her. "I don't know why you find it amusing to toy with guy's hearts like that."

"I wasn't toying with their hearts." Ember corrected, still giggling. "And don't tell me this wasn't funny?"

Ember let her face slacken, her jaw falling open in a stupid expression of disbelief. Her tongue lolled out, and for added effect, she crossed her eyes and tilted her head slightly to the side.

Liliah couldn't help but giggle a bit at her friend's face. "Okay, I admit that their faces were pretty funny. But that doesn't make what you did right!"

"Spoilsport." Ember huffed, letting the expression fade. "Why can't you lighten up a little? We're alive and well! Why can't we have a little fun?"

"But Ember! What will people say if you keep this up? Most of the villagers already think of you as..."

"Easy? A slut? You know that isn't true. Rumours and nothing more."

"But People talk. And with the way you act, people will think..."

"I don't care what they think!" Ember growled, pushing off of the tree she had been leaning on and continuing her walk. "I haven't slept with anyone. And I don't intend to until I find the perfect guy. All I want to do is have some laughs. If people talk, let them. I know it isn't true, you know it isn't true, and Grandma knows it isn't true. That's good enough for me."

Liliah sighed and took off after Ember, who had sped up to a swift trot.

"I suppose. But with the way you are acting, you are bound to get into trouble eventually."

"I can take care of myself you know." Ember grunted, not looking in the green dragoness's direction.

"All I'm trying to say is..." Whatever Liliah was going to say was cut off as they entered a small grove and saw a motionless figure lying beside a large boulder. They both stopped in their tracks, staring at the figure with anxious surprise. From where they stood, the form appeared to be covered in a thick white fur. It was roughly their size and lay on its side, unmoving.

Ember scanned the area, and noticed a smudge of blood on the rock by the figure. She took a step forward, towards the figure.

"What are you doing!" Liliah hissed in a frightened whisper. "It could be dangerous."

Ember wavered for half a second, and then continued forward regardless of her companion's protests. Liliah looked between the foreign creature that lay on the ground, and her pink fire dragon friend who neared the furry shape. Then making up her mind, she followed cautiously after Ember.

The pink dragon stopped by the motionless form, and examined it closely. It appeared to be a dragon completely covered in white fur, and which lay unnaturally still. The fur over the dragon's face was soaked red. Ember touched the fur and found several torn spots, that parted to reveal scales beneath. It was then she realised it wasn't a furry dragon at all, but rather a thick coat of woven fur patches that covered every inch of the dragon's body.

With this revelation, Ember proceeded to tear the fur coat from the unconscious dragon's body, fully exposing his vibrant crimson scales. Liliah gasped as Ember stripped the comatose dragon, removing the heavy fur coat as quickly as possible. His two deep red horns matched the colour of the bloody scab that encrusted most of his head. A long orange frill cut down his spine to the tip of his tail.

Ember examined the wound, and then looked up to Liliah. "Get a healer. He's badly hurt. Who knows what might happen if he isn't taken care of immediately."

Liliah paused, and then ran from the grove back towards the village as fast as she could. Ember turned back to the unconscious red. He appeared to be around fourteen years of age, two years younger than Ember, but was of considerably larger build than most males she knew.

While she waited, Ember gathered some herbs and worked swiftly, made a poultice that she smeared over the dragon's wound.

"Don't worry." Ember whispered, looking into his closed eyes. "We will take care of you, I promise."

**Characters that belong to Dardarax:**

Liliah

Conflagris

Milona

Autumn

Agghhh, thank goodness this is finally done! I'm sorry to have made you wait for so long for this, but I just had such a hard time writing it! The first half was such a pain to write, no matter how hard I tried it wouldn't come out like I wanted it to! The second half with Ember was much more entertaining to write though. And yes, this is how I view Ember, a kidder and a party girl. She flirts, but she doesn't do it because she actually likes the guys she flirts with. She does it because it's fun to embarrass them. :P Now, back to Dark Legacy! Hopefully this won't take nearly as long, and come out sooner, rather than later.


	3. Memories

Chapter 3. Memories

By: Dardarax

It was the pain that woke him. Harsh, throbbing agony that pounded away at his skull like a wild beast trapped in his head. He groaned and rolled over, eyes squeezed shut from the pain, body shaking. As he lay, trying to block out the pain, he started to make out sounds, then words, and then phrases. It was low, and hardly noticeable beneath the throbbing in his skull, but it was still there.

"Ts... Hold still Brash. That leg won't splint itself."

"Hush, now. I know it tastes bad, but it'll make your wing hurt less."

"Come on, get up. We need you to stretch your legs. Too much laying around and you'll get soft."

_"Where... Where am I?"_ The young dragon thought to himself as he listened to the sound. Nothing sounded familiar, and he couldn't help but wonder how he got here.

"Hey, I think our guest is awake!" A female voice called, causing the young drake to flinch as the sound stabbed painfully into his ears. He raised his head slightly, and blinking, looked around.

He lay on a small cot in an infirmary, surrounded by strange dragons and the people of other races. Many lay on cots similar to the one he had been sleeping on. All of the occupants of the clinic gazed at him curiously. Two healers, one a male lightning dragon, the other a brown female collie rushed up to him.

"Are you okay, dear?" The collie asked, pressing a hand over the young dragon's paw comfortingly. The young dragon nodded.

"Yeah, I... I think so."

"You've been out for a day now. That head wound was nasty." The dragon healer grumbled, taking a cloth and wiping at the bandage that covered most of the dragon's head. "What's your name, by the way? You aren't from around here, that's for sure."

"Flame, my name is Flame." The young dragon answered, sitting patiently while the healers checked him over. He blinked at his own words. _"Flame. Yes, that's my name. How could I forget."_Flame thought to himself frowning. He tried to think back, to remember something, but the throbbing in his head intensified, and he flinched back as if struck.

"Are you okay, Flame?" The canine healer asked, startled by Flame's sudden movement.

"Ye... Yeah. I'm okay." He answered, as confused as those who were watching him.

"That's good then." The canine sighed, relieved and looked around. She caught sight of a pink dragoness entering the clinic, and waved her over. "Hey Ember! Our guest is awake!"

The pink dragoness looked up, a surprised grin spreading across her muzzle.

"Really! It's about time!" Ember put the basket down and rushed over to the side of the bed. The male dragon healer moved off to look after some of the other patients.

"Flame, this is Ember. She's the one who found you and helped bring you here." The collie explained, gesturing to Ember. The pink dragoness smiled comfortingly.

"Flame, huh? Cute name."

Flame blushed, turning his red scales even darker, and Ember snickered. "Nice to see you're awake, Flame.. We were worried for a bit that you weren't going to wake up."

"Where am I?" Flame asked puzzled, looking around. Ember looked at him with amusement.

"The healer's hut." She answered smiling sardonically. Flame frowned and opened his muzzle to respond, but Ember's laugh cut him off. "Rosegrove Village. We found you in the forest unconscious.

"Oh." Flame murmured, and then his frown deepened. "Forest?"

"Yeah, the forest. You know, lots of trees." Ember sighed, as if frustrated.

Flame shook his head. "Trees? What are those?"

Ember and the healer glanced at each other, concerned. "I think he may have hit his head harder than we though." Ember whispered, leaning over to the canine. The collie nodded and looked into Flame's eyes, holding his chin still so he couldn't move away.

"Do you remember how you got here? Where're you from?" She asked, looking deep into Flame's eyes.

"Um... I remember I'm from a really cold place, full of ice, snow and blizzards. I lived in a mountain village with my family. I remember we left to go do something, but it's so fuzzy I can't make sense of it. Sorry."

The healer glanced over at Ember. "It seems to be a mild case of amnesia. It's affecting his recent memories. It's probably related to the head injury, but it could be shock. Regardless, it shouldn't last too long. It doesn't seem too severe."

"That's good I suppose." Ember sighed, watching Flame. "Is he good enough to leave yet?"

"The life crystals we gave him have closed the wound and healed most of the damage, but he is still fairly weak." The collie touched Flame's head bandage lightly, and then looked into his eyes again. "You can leave, if you promise to follow my instructions to the letter. Understand?"

Flame nodded, and then winced in pain at the action.

"Don't remove the bandage, try to avoid touching it if you can. Don't exert yourself, and whatever you do, don't get hit on the head again for the next few weeks. Come back here everyday so we can check and see how your head is healing. Do all of this and your head should be as good as new in less than a month. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Flame answered, holding his head still this time.

"Good. Now you can leave. Be back tomorrow before noon." The collie patted him on the back, winked at Ember, and moved off to attend to an adult wind dragon, who was busy complaining about his pillows.

Ember grinned at Flame. "Come on, get up, I want to show you around the village."

"Okay." Flame said, grinning sheepishly. "I want to see this forest."

Ember helped the red dragon get off the bed, and led Flame out of the clinic. She opened the door, and a wash of warm air blew through. Flame started a bit at this. Ember looked at him curiously.

"What?"

"It's hot out there." Flame explained, sniffing the warm air.

"No it isn't. It's actually pretty chilly out today."

"I don't know what you're talking about, it feels hot to me."

"Oh, right. You said you were from some place really cold. It must feel hot by comparison. You won't like it here when it's midsummer. It's hot even for us. Come on, let's go!"

Ember pulled Flame out of the door, and he reluctantly stepped out. The leaves were slowly changing from their summer green, to their autumn oranges and reds. Flowers carpeted the ground, all in full bloom, the grass and moss covered huts stood in clusters, resembling small hillocks. Villagers moved purposely around the town, repairing damaged homes, gathering food, and collecting firewood for the coming winter.

Flame started in awe at the lush vegetation around him, muzzle hanging open stupidly. Ember giggled.

"It's the most beautiful time of year. It's still modestly warm out, all the colours are changing, and the crops are all ready for harvesting. It's such a lovely sight."

Flame nodded speechlessly, and continued to stare as Ember led him away from the healer's hut, and on a short tour of the village. The red dragon marveled at the abundance of life, and touched everything, the bark of the trees, the grass, the flowers. Ember watched amused as he explored, like a hatchling experiencing the world for the first time.

"This is amazing!" Flame exclaimed, glancing over to Ember, a wide grin stretched across his muzzle. "I never though so many plants could exist in one place! Back home, you would be hard pressed to find a shrub, let alone something like this!" Flame patted the thick oak beside him, smiling excitedly.

"Is it really that cold where you come from?" Ember asked curiously. Flame nodded.

"Water freezes within minutes of going outside. You have to wear heavy coverings at all times to keep from freezing to death. But here, it's hot, you have so much food, and you don't have to ration your supplies! It's paradise!"

Ember opened her muzzle to tell him that they too, had their own problems. That they always had to worry about Grublin or Ape raids, and that food wasn't all that plentiful here, but she stopped. He looked so happy, the red dragon so awed at the world he had discovered that she couldn't ruin it for him. She closed her muzzle and nodded, no saying anything.

"Hey Ember!"

Flame jumped in surprised, as the grass green Liliah materialized from the foliage.

"We're supposed to be..." She stopped as her gaze wandered over to Flame. The large red dragon was crouched and ready for attack.

"Oh." She whispered, taking a step back. Flame, suddenly realizing she wasn't a threat, stood up straight feeling foolish.

"Uh... Hi." He mumbled, glancing away abashed.

Ember grinned. "Hey Liliah. This is Flame. Flame, Liliah. She was with me when we found you."

"Oh... Um, thanks." Flame murmured, and smiled at Liliah gratefully. Liliah returned the smile warmly.

"There's nothing to thank me for. Ember was the one who closed you head wound. I just went get help."

"Still thanks." Flame returned, all of his remaining shyness fading. He fell silent for a moment, as did Liliah. Ember looked between them, and then clapped her paws together.

"Welp, I think it's time for dinner. Would you like to join us Flame?"

"Sure." Flame nodded eagerly.

"Okay, then follow me." Ember chirped, turned on her paws and padded towards her home. At first Flame didn't see her hut, being shrouded in grass and shrubs that hid it from view. It was only when Ember opened the hidden door that Flame realized the hill was actually a house.

"Oh, cool!" He cried, stepping up to stare, seeing the hidden windows and other small signs he hadn't seen before. "A hidden home! I was starting to wonder if you slept out in the open. Should have known you camouflaged your buildings."

Ember turned at his exclamation, and snickered at this goofy grin. "Pretty much. We don't have a very defensible position here, or great fighters, so we use stealth to keep safe."

Flame nodded, impressed at the wisdom of hiding like this, and at a gesture from Ember, he stepped inside. Flame gazed around at the cherry wood walls, the sturdy furniture and the fire that crackled in the hearth. He was used to drafty, cool stone walls. The whole building made up of many rocks piled on top of each other, and filled up with mud, along with hard stone floors and cramped rooms.

Here the floor was carpeted with moss, cool and soft to the paws. The rooms were a bit more spacious than he was used to, but filled up with small tables and mattresses to give it a more homey feel. The rich smell of cooking meat wafted through the air, and Flame sighed in contentment at the feeling the small hut gave him.

"Grandma, we're home! And we've got a guest!" Ember called, stepping in and moving towards the far side of the room. A creaky, but kindly voice answered the pink dragoness's call as Ember neared.

"A guest? Is it that poor drake you found in the forest? Make yourself at home dear."

Flame cautiously moved into the kitchen, right behind Liliah. He found Ember sitting eagerly at a large table, while an elderly pink dragoness sliced pieces off a chicken.

"How is it Ember, that you always know when I'm finished cooking?" The elder asked, setting the sliced poultry down on the middle of the table. Ember giggled a chiming laugh.

"Let's just say I've got a good sense of time." The old dragoness snorted.

"I'm that predictable am I?" She turned to Flame, and blinked in surprise as she finally registered his presence. "Oh! Welcome lad. Please have a seat, you must be famished."

"Yes, I am." Flamed agreed, all but drooling at the sight of the food. He quickly took a seat, and snatched up a leg of chicken and bit into it. He munched for a moment, and then swallowed.

"Hm... Tastes like seal. What is it?"

"It's chicken silly." Ember laughed, bonking Flame on the shoulder gently. "Have you never had chicken before?"

Flame shook his head and took another bite. "Nnoope." He mumbled through his food. Swallowing, he continued. "There aren't too many animals where I live... lived. Mostly seals and the occasional ice boar and skywing. Sometimes a snow bear, but you have to be careful with them."

"Wow." Ember murmured, glancing up at Flame curiously. "Sounds harsh."

"It can be." Flame answered, nodding. "There isn't all that much food, and almost no plants. Everyday is often a struggle to survive... Was a struggle." Flame corrected himself, finishing his chicken leg, and grabbing a wing.

"It sounds like you've lived a pretty hard life." Ember's grandmother croaked, sitting next to Flame on a cotton cushion.

Flame shrugged. "It wasn't so bad. You get used to the cold and the scarcity of food. You learn how to store food and use up every last bit of something so nothing goes to waste."

"Makes sense." The aged pink agreed, nodding. "You can't go wrong preparing for the worst."

"Yep." Flame mumbled, biting into another chunk of chicken. They chatted on easily, talking of small things as they ate. Ember began to notice Flame seemed to be slowly remembering more of his past as he spoke, details returning as he talked.

_"Maybe his amnesia will be gone soon and he'll be able to tell us how he got here."_ Ember wondered, eating slowly while Liliah talked with Flame. _"From the sounds of it, he was there only recently, and there's no place like that anywhere near here."_

"Well dear, do you have a place to stay while your're here at our village?" Ember's grandma asked, as they finished their meal. Flame paused in the middle of licking his claws clean, and looked up.

"Uh... I don't..."

"Jamberson and his family have volunteered to let Flame stay with them." Ember cut in quickly, before Flame could finish. The young pink dragoness stood, and picked up the plate with the remnants of the chicken, and brought it over to the counter. The elder pursed her muzzle in disappointment.

"Oh, well then. Never mind. It would have been nice to have some company, it's been so long since anyone's stayed. But Jamberson is a nice lad, you would be more comfortable with them."

"Uh... Okay." Flame stammered, looking between the disappointed elder, and the relieved Ember, more than a little confused. Ember placed the platter on the counter and turned around, motioning to Flame and Liliah.

"Speaking of Jamberson, we should take you to see them." Ember made for the door and Liliah, sighing in exasperation got up and followed her out. Flame hesitated before getting up, and then looked over at Ember's grandmother.

"Thank you for offer, and the delicious meal, miss..."

"Pealopy, just Pealopy." The decrepit pink dragoness beamed, slowly getting up. "And you're very welcome. And know you are always welcome to visit."

Flame smiled back, nodding, and then jogged off to catch up with the two dragonesses.

"You didn't have to be so blatant!" Liliah hissed to Ember as they walked, moving down the main path through the town. "She looked so sad, couldn't you have at least humoured her?"

"Liliah," Ember sighed, turning hard eyes on her friend. "We only have two bedrooms in our house. One for me, and one for grandma, and mine is the only one with room for a guest. There is no way I'm going to sleep in the same house as a male I've just met, let alone the same room.

"But he doesn't seem to be like the other males here. I don't think..."

Ember's hiss silenced her, and the grass green dragoness followed Ember's gaze. Up ahead a small group of three male dragons, led by a large lightning dragon, was coming down the way towards them.

"Shit." Ember spat, glancing around.

"Hey Ember, wait up!" Flame called from behind. Ember flinched in surprise, and then closed her eyes in defeat. The lightning dragon broke off from his conversation and looked up. His violet eyes fell upon Ember and he grinned broadly. Ember resisted the urge to turn and shout at Flame, who had just stopped beside her, looking at her panting lightly from his short run.

"Ember! I've been looking for yah, baby!" The lightning dragon cried cheerfully, jogging up to her. He had two massive white horns sticking back out of his head, and his hide was covered in wavy markings that jagged all over his body. His hazel eyes gleamed as he approached. Flame looked at him in surprise.

"What is it Plaazrus?" Ember sighed, opening her eyes and putting a paw to her forehead. Plaazrus didn't seem to notice her frustration, and smiled winningly at her.

"I was wondering if yah'd like to go out on a romanciful evening with me to Sunwatch?"

Ember's jaw muscles spasmed, as she clenched them shut in an effort to hold back her irritation. She managed a smile, but it was less friendly and more of a grimace.

"I thought we weren't going out on anymore 'romanciful evenings' together. I dumpedyou two months ago."

"Aw. Well, what 'bout that time when yah cooked me up that deer I hunted down in Rosegrotto. That was..."

"Three months ago." Ember grunted, craning her neck to look past the three for a way past them. Plaazrus saw this and moved closer.

"Aw, come on baby! It'll be just like old times." Plaazrus smirked. Ember grimaced at these words and took a step away from him.

"**Don't** call me baby. I'm **older** than you by more than a year."

"But you're my baby, Ember." Plaazrus grinned, moving forward and abruptly grabbed hold of Ember, and held her to his chest. Ember froze, forced to stand on her hind paws to keep from falling over, eyes wide.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." She hissed, eyes narrowing into slits. Plaazrus, as thick as he was, didn't catch the hint.

"Come on, baby. Give me a kiss. It'll make everything better, trust me." The bulky drake leaned forward to kiss Ember on the muzzle. The pink dragoness leaned back in turn, trying to escape.

"She said let go of her!" Flame snarled, stomping up to Plaazrus. The lightning dragon frowned at the voice, and looked down at Flame. Ember took the chance to knee him between the hind legs.

Plaazrus gasped in pain, and keeled over, letting Ember go in the process. The pink dragoness skipped back out of Plaazrus's reach, and glowered at him. The lightning dragon grimaced in pain, and glanced over at Flame, the red dragon's presence finally registering.

"Well... Who's this? Yah new play toy... Ember?" Plaazrus grunted, grinding his fangs in pain, and sitting down on his haunches. Flame raised an eyeridge in confusion, and Ember snarled.

Plaazrus looked over at Ember in amusement. "Yah did always like em young and bulky. And what's with them bandages? Yah give 'im so much 'ead he lost some to compensate?"

Plaazrus's friends guffawed at the joke. Liliah sighed and put her head in her paws, muttering "what a mess" under her breath.

Flame started at the three laughing dragons blankly. "Uh... I don't get it."

Plaazrus stopped laughing and gazed back at Flame incredulously.

"Are yah thick! Did yah lose yah brains too?" Plaazrus scoffed. He leaned forward and flicked Flame in the head with a claw. A flash of pain shot through Flame's head, and he reeled back, crying out in pain, vision swimming. Plaazrus burst into peels of laughter as Flame staggered about, holding his head in his paws.

"HAH! What a weakling, eh guys? He can't even take a..."

A solid punch from Ember sent Plaazrus crashing to the ground, crying out in shock. The pink dragoness sneered down at the lightning dragon angrily.

"He's got a head wound. **Idiot**!" Ember snarled. She then stalked past the downed drake, and over to Flame. "Are you alright?" She asked, and Flame nodded slowly.

"Yeah." He said weakly. Ember nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, let's go before these assholes try anything else." Ember gestured for Liliah to follow, and abruptly turned and stalked away. Plaazrus's friends helped the lightning dragon up, and Plaazrus glared after the three as they left. Then, he too turned and strode away, turning his back on the three.

Ember glanced over at Flame as they walked, and smiled at him brightly. She slowed her gait so that he could catch up, and then pressed her side against his.

"Thank you Flame. That was very noble of you to defend me like that."

Flame blushed at the words and her touch, but the flush was hidden beneath his red scales.

"Uh... Um. You're welcome."

Ember giggled at his embarrassed face and stumbling speech, and then trotted back ahead of him, tauntingly strutting as she led the way. Flame stared at her with incredulous embarrassment. Liliah sighed, and moved up beside the burly red.

"Just ignore her. She's just playing around."

"O... Okay." Flame muttered, forcing his eyes away from Ember's backside. They came to a stop in front of a large house, carved into a hillside. Ember knocked on the well hidden door, and waited until it was opened by a small grey dragon.

"Hey Emmby!" The dragonling chirped, and Ember scruffled his head with her paw.

"Nice to see you too tyke. Is your daddy here?"

"Yep!" The dragonling chirped, opening the door wide and turning to shout into the house.

"EMMBY WIWIAH AND A STWANGER ARE HERE DADDY!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, trotting back into the house.

"You don't have to shout, Jaque, I'm right here." A tired voice grumbled from within. A moment later an adult wind dragon appeared at the door, yawning in exhaustion. He was several years older than Ember, but couldn't be much older than twenty. His three horns curled forward around his muzzle, one between the eyes, and two just below the jaw. He shook his head, and blearily blinked his eyes, one of which was grey, the other, pale blue.

"Jam!" Ember cried, cheerfully, giving the dragon a short hug. "Been working hard on the crops?"

"Day and night Ember. Day and night." The dragon Flame assumed was Jamberson yawned, stepping aside to let them in. "Well, I guess not all night. I do have to sleep you know." He chuckled, closing the door once they had entered.

The house was considerably larger than Ember's home, with several extra rooms and less furniture clustering everything up. The windows were obscured by grass and dirt, but still let the afternoon sun stream through. Jaque ran in circles around Jamberson's paws, chirping excitedly. The adult wind dragon glanced over at Flame, and nodded.

"So your the one they found in the forest? I see you've healed up fairly well, considering you were dying when they brought you in."

"Yeah, I guess I am." He looked between Jamberson and Ember, curiously. "I was dying?" He asked curiously. Liliah nodded.

"Your head wound was very serious. We almost gave up hope you would survive."

"Oh." Flame whispered, a little shocked at the revelation. Jamberson waited in silence for a moment, before coughing politely.

"So you're going to sleep with us while you stay here. Is that okay, uh..." Jamberson gestured vaguely in Flame's direction, and the red realized he hadn't introduced himself.

"Flame, I'm Flame. And yes, it's okay with me."

"Alright, I'll show you to your rooms. You probably want to get settled for the night after galavanting around with..." Jamberson glanced over at Ember, and then looked away quickly at her glare. "Um... with that head injury. It was pretty bad, and you should get your rest."

"Smooth one, Jam." Ember grumbled under her breath, turning away. Flame watched her moved off into the house with a raised eye ridge. Jamberson coughed again, and turned and moved across the house to a closed door.

"Your room will be over here. It's a bit cluttered, but it's still fairly comfortable." Jamberson opened the door to the room, and stepped aside so Flame could look in. In the middle of the room, a thick straw mattress lay on the floor, several cotton cushions lay on the mattress, giving it a welcoming look. The walls were lined with all manner of objects, from tools, to bags of seeds and sacks of wheat.

"Sorry about the mess." Jamberson apologized, seeing Flame's surprised expression. "It was a storage room before I added the bed for you."

"No, that's okay." Flame said, waving his apology away. "It's not much smaller than the room I had back home. Only then I had to share it with my sister, so it was pretty cluttered too."

"Well that's good to hear." Jamberson sighed, smiling slightly.

"Dinner's ready!" A chiming female voice called from somewhere in the house.

"Coming dear!" The wind dragon cried, looking up and smiling. "Flame, you get settled down, and then come over to the kitchen for your meal. I would like to introduce you to my family."

"I already had dinner, thanks." Flame smiled sheepishly. "Though I would love to meet your family."

"Okay, if you're sure." Jamberson replied, shrugging. "More for us then." The wind dragon then turned and slipped through a different door, sighing in pleasure. "Is that ham I smell?"

Flame turned and took a quick look into the room, and took some time to move some of the stuff out of the way and clear a space. Once he was reasonably sure he could enter without worrying about stepping on something, he left and closed the door. He turned and found himself face to face with Ember who was standing behind him.

"Oh!" Flame jerked back in surprise, startled. "I uh... didn't see you there."

"I just wanted to say good bye for now." Ember said, grinning at his embarrassed face. "I have to go home, but I'll come over to see you tomorrow."

"Okay." Flame whispered, regaining his composure.

"Also, I had forgotten about this until Liliah reminded me just now." Ember grunted, rummaging around in a bag around her neck. Out of it she produced a thick, white fur coat, which she handed over to Flame. He took it wordlessly, staring down at it.

"It was the coat you were wearing when we found you." Ember said, glancing over it. "It was torn, and bloodstained, and it was burned in spots. We fixed it up while you were unconscious. I though you might want it back."

"Thanks Ember." Flame said, grinning as he looked the coat over. "Dad made it for me for my tenth hatchday. I thought I lost it when the world was being tor..." Flame blinked and came to a sudden stop. Ember waited for him to finish, frowning as his face turned from thankful to horrified.

"M... My dad..." Flame whispered, his body starting to shake as the memories returned. "My dad is..."

"Your dad is...?" Ember asked, and then realized what he was about to say. "Oh no."

Tears welled up in Flame's eyes, and the coat fell to the floor as his body started shaking with sobs. Ember stood helplessly as Flame crumpled to the ground, crying weakly as he remembered the events that had taken place when the world had broken apart.

"They're... They're all gone." Flame whispered, tears streaming down his face. "I'll never... I'll never see any of them again."

"Oh Flame, I'm so sorry. It is so hard to lose loved ones." Ember murmured sitting down next to him and draping a wing over his body. Flame burst into a fresh wash of tears, and Ember could only sit and try to comfort him as he remembered the terrible events that had transpired while the world was torn apart.

After several minutes of weeping, his sobs started to weaken, and Ember let out a long sigh.

"You should get some rest, Flame. You've had a hard day."

The red dragon nodded brokenly, and Ember sat up and moved away from him. Flame slowly got up and meandered sadly into the room. Ember watched as he climbed into the bed, still sniffing back tears, and then closed the door quietly.

Ember sighed and turned away from the door, padding through the house to the exit. She passed by the kitchen, where Jamberson, his mate, a thickly built female wind dragoness, and Jaque sat at the table, starting on their meal. Jamberson looked up as Ember passed, and frowned.

"Hey, Ember! Where's Flame?"

"Just, give him some space for now, okay." Ember replied, not looking towards the three. "He's going through some tough times right now, and he needs some time to himself."

Jamberson looked over at his mate, confused. She shrugged, shaking her head at the vague reply Ember had given them. Ember didn't give them time to ask any more questions, and slid out of the door.

The sun set in the distance, painting the horizon with a hazy orange-red glow. The stars were beginning to shine in the dusky night, dotting the sky like countless minuscule diamonds. No clouds carpeted the sky, and the air was crisp and clear as Ember made her way back home, head hanging low, the dark of the night hiding the tears that fell from her eyes.

**Characters created by Dardarax:**

Pealopy

Liliah

Plaazrus

Jamberson, Jaque and family.

*Sigh* Wow, that was... decent I suppose. Wish it could have been a bit longer than it was, but whatever. Not overly impressed with this chapter, which is sad because it wasn't half bad. Never the less, I think it's time to move on.

So, I'm not going to be working on FC, EH for some time now, for several reasons. The first being that I would rather just work on Dark Legacy instead. It's getting to some really interesting parts now, and I would rather do that than this. The second being that these aren't coming out as quickly as I had been hoping, and if i'm going to work on them, it'll be when I'm more motivated for them. And lastly, because the plot isn't finalized for this story, unlike Dark Legacy, and I'll need some time to work on that before I'm actually prepared to get serious on them. So sorry to all of you who were really looking forward to the next chapter, but you'll have to wait. This story is going on temporary Hiatus (That is the word for it, right? XD ) until I'm good and ready to start it up again.

Ps. Thanks to Deeth Irteen for Betaing this chapter. ^_^


End file.
